


Magic Touch

by ive_been_losing_sleep



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Asexual Character, I love platonics alright, I love werewolves too, M/M, Nonbinary Character, asexual!hinata, enjoy this piece of shit, nonbinary!kenma, platonic kagehina, platonic kuroken, probably a lot of typos, sue me, vet!hinata, werewolf!kuroo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6019825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ive_been_losing_sleep/pseuds/ive_been_losing_sleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laying on the side of the road after being hit by a car was definitely not how Kuroo imagined he’d be spending his Saturday night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic Touch

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this at 11:55 on Sunday, it counts as a Valentine's fic

Laying on the side of the road after being hit by a car was definitely not how Kuroo imagined he’d be spending his Saturday night. 

The people in the truck didn’t even pull over to see if he was alright, fucking jackasses. 

Granted, he’s not exactly in his human form, but _come on_ , show a werewolf a little bit of common decency, would you?

And where the hell was Bokuto? The crazy owl had flown away to get Kenma at least an hour ago and, considering Kenma could just use their witch voodoo magic to teleport here, they shouldn’t be taking ages to come save his ass. But they are, and Kuroo’s forced to spend his Saturday night laying snout-first in a muddy ditch. 

And, _shit_ , he’s pretty sure that the pain shooting up and down his hind leg is a pretty good indication that it’s broken. 

Whoop-dee-fucking-do. 

There’s a crackle of thunder as a bolt of lightning flashes across the night sky. Judging by the fact that Kuroo’s fur is standing on end from the electricity charging through the air, he’s gonna guess that the storm is really close. 

Things are great. 

And they’re only looking like they’re getting better when the tell-tale glow of headlights appears a little bit down the road. With his luck, the head lights will belong to a giant-ass semi-truck that’s just gonna splash the water from a nearby puddle all over his nice, black fur coat. And yeah, maybe he’s really dirty and needs a bath anyway, but that’s really not the point is it?

Luckily, instead of the semi-truck Kuroo was expecting (because he really can’t be an optimist in this kind of a situation), a beat-up, bright red pickup truck rattles down the road. It’s hauling a large trailer behind it and there’s some kind of logo emblazoned along the side, but Kuroo’s vision is starting to blur out and he really doesn’t want to strain his eyes just to find out what brand of trailer this guy’s towing. 

Kuroo just wants this dude to drive on by and be on his merry way; if he ends up covering the werewolf with filthy dirt-water then so be it, he’s accepted his lousy fate and just wants to sulk here in peace. At least until his friends can be fucking bothered to come save his sorry ass, but that seems like it’s gonna take a while. 

The truck doesn’t just drive on by, though. Well, it starts to, driving a couple yards behind Kuroo, but he hears the squealing of brakes and the skidding of tires stopping on slick pavement. There’s the slam of a car door, followed by the squelching of boots treading through the mud. 

The guy pulled over for him. 

Kuroo doesn’t really know what the man expects to do with a wolf lying in a ditch off the side of the road. Maybe he’s a witch like Kenma and can use his fancy, glowing magic to make all of his wounds disappear. Wouldn’t that be a fucking miracle?

He’s not really expecting much to be quite honest. But a man can dream. 

And, when he finally gets a good look at the kind stranger’s face, he starts to think that maybe he is dreaming after all. 

He doesn’t even care that this guy isn’t a healing witch anymore, because he’s pretty sure he’s face to face with an angel instead. 

He’s the cutest guy Kuroo’s ever seen and, if he’d had any sort of energy left in his aching bones, he would’ve wolf whistled and howled like the wolf in that shitty cartoon he used to make fun of with Bokuto. He looks small, drowning in a gray, bulky hoodie lined with fluffy sherpa. His head is covered in a dark beanie, but Kuroo can still see little wisps of bright ginger hair escaping the confines of the hat. He has big, brown doe eyes, and a button nose, and lips that Kuroo’s positive he can spend hours kissing. One look at this angel, and Kuroo’s pretty sure all of his wounds have been cured. 

Until another surge of debilitating pain shoots up his leg. 

A whine escapes from his mouth, but he’s suddenly much more concerned about the way the stranger flinches away from him after he makes the noise. “You got hit pretty bad there, didn’t you, dude.” And then he’s laying his hand down between Kuroo’s ears, running his fingers through the fur on his head, and Kuroo just wants to melt into a puddle of goo. It’s like warm rays of sunshine spread out from his fingers, loosening his tense muscles and warding away some of the ache he feels. “Okay, buddy, I’m gonna get you somewhere I can help you a little better, alright? I gotta move you, though, so sorry if this hurts.”

Honestly, Kuroo’s too busy looking at the angel’s cute, little face to process his words. The stranger moves his hand from between the wolf’s ears, followed by a whine of protest, but all complaints are halted when the hand slips along Kuroo’s side, burying itself in the fur along his stomach. Kuroo’s never really associated himself with dogs before, in fact he’s been rather adamant that him and mutts are very different things, but damn him if he doesn’t want to roll over and receive what would probably be the best belly rub in the history of werewolf kind. 

The angel’s touch is like magic. 

At least, that’s what Kuroo thinks until the dude starts lifting him up off the ground and his leg feels like it’s being ripped out of a fucking bear trap. The pain is so unbearable that his instincts flare, and he snaps at the stranger. 

The guy yelps, but doesn’t drop Kuroo which is probably a really good thing because being dropped is not something that needs to be added to the list ‘Things That Have Caused Kuroo Tetsurou Harm Today.’ Instead, he shifts Kuroo around in his arms a little bit (how the hell is this kid even carrying him anyway, he looks like a feather could knock him over) and starts to amble towards the truck. “Sorry, dude, I know that probably hurt like a bitch, but I gotta get you to my office. Then, I’ll fix ya up, good as knew, sound good?”

Kuroo doesn’t really understand why this angel keeps talking to him. As far as this guy knows he’s just a normal wolf who can’t talk and certainly isn’t able to turn into a naked dude that he could actually have a civilized conversation with. Not that Kuroo would be turning into a person anyway, the change would cause him way too much pain with his injuries. Definitely not worth it. 

Carrying a heavier-than-a-bag-of-bricks, holy-shit-what-do-you-even-eat werewolf to the pickup truck becomes a bit of a juggling act when the stranger has to wrestle open the door to the rear seats. He hefts Kuroo’s weight over one shoulder ( _shit, shit, shit that fucking hurts_ ) and balances the rest of his weight with his right hand while his left fights with the door handle. When he finally wrangles it open, he slides Kuroo across the benched seats and gives him one last pat on the head before shutting the door and climbing into the driver’s seat. 

The leather is warm and dry, and Kuroo wiggles around a little bit to make himself comfortable. The pain in his leg is paling into a numb throb that’s a little more manageable, and the long fingers of sleep are beginning to drag him into darkness. He catches the angel’s eyes in the rearview mirror and, feeling safer than he’s ever been before, he succumbs to sleep. 

 

Kuroo’s woken up by the sound of the car door opening and he’s positive he would cry if wolves actually could cry from misery. His whole body fucking aches and he just wants to sleep for a billion years if it means he wouldn’t have to feel the pain. 

He must’ve let out a whimper or something else totally un-manly because the angel in front of him sighs and runs his fingers through his fur. “Come on, buddy, let’s go.” He lifts Kuroo up again and carries him inside a new-looking building. With a start, Kuroo realizes that the area is very familiar; he drives past it nearly everyday when he drives to Kenma’s house. It’s the new veterinary office that was built a couple weeks ago, the veterinarian moving across the country just to start his new business. 

And the poor, little human must’ve had no idea that he built it right on top of a supernatural hotspot. 

Almost no one in Forest Ridge is human; it’s filled to the brim with creatures like witches, vampires, werewolves and weird ones without names like the owl-shifter Bokuto is. It’s no place for a human, especially not a small, precious one like the angel currently using every last muscle in his body to drag Kuroo to a room. 

It’s right at that very moment, when the human is hefting Kuroo onto the examination table with trembling legs and shortened breaths, that Kuroo decides something.

He’s going to protect this perfect creature from all the things that go bump in the night.

It absolutely has nothing to do with the fact that he just wants to take him out on a date and kiss the kid silly. Nope. Only for noble reasons like protecting him and keeping him safe. 

Because Kuroo is a good person who never has any ulterior motives whatsoever. 

The boy that Kuroo has now sworn to protect busies himself around the room, grabbing things off of shelves, rearranging the equipment on a nearby table and throwing some different medicines into a small bowl. Satisfied with his work, he returns to Kuroo and strokes his back comfortingly. “I’m gonna poke around a little bit, try to see what’s wrong,” and then the prodding begins. At first, it’s nothing more than the veterinarian running his palms lightly across his body and, if he had been in a clearer state of mind, he probably would’ve made some kind of joke in his head about how the guy should really buy him dinner first. 

And then his fingers glide across Kuroo’s back leg. 

The yelp that escapes from the wolf is so sharp, it could’ve existed in a key signature all of its own. The angel immediately draws his hands away with a wince, “Yeah, that’s probably broken.” He reaches for something on the table behind him, a long, glass syringe filled with a milky, purple fluid and holds it near the scruff of Kuroo’s neck. “Sorry, dude, but you’re gonna want to be knocked out for this.”

Yeah, it’s too bad Kuroo’s terrified of needles (of all the things for a werewolf to be afraid of), so there’s absolutely no way in hell he’s letting that thing anywhere near him. 

He reels away from the syringe desperately, flinching as another spike of pain goes up his leg. The guy sighs in exasperation, but refocuses his eyes on a point somewhere behind Kuroo. “Hey, what’s that?”

Reflexively, Kuroo turns his head to look behind him, and the kid takes the opportunity to stick the needle by his shoulder blade. Kuroo whines, upset he was tricked, but relaxes when the angel starts to rub at the area soothingly. “Just go to sleep, bud. You’ll feel better when you wake up I promise.”

 

Kuroo actually did feel a hell of a lot better when he woke up. The kid must’ve hopped him up on the good stuff. 

Still sprawled out across the examination table, Kuroo wobbles to his feet, stretching out any last aches he might be feeling. His hind leg is wrapped in a dark blue bandage and he wiggles it experimentally, happy to see that the pain he felt last night has been reduced to nothing but pins and needles. 

“It’s about time you woke up,” a voice murmurs from behind Kuroo. He whips around, paws scrabbling for purchase across the metal table, and glares at his friend bitterly. Kenma’s always been quiet and sneaky, but that doesn’t mean they can just sneak up behind Kuroo all willy-nilly. 

The witch sits in a plastic chair across from Kuroo, legs crossed and bleached hair hanging in front of their face. They must’ve appeared in the room magically once they figured out where Kuroo was and, judging by the cellphone held in their hands, they must’ve been waiting for a while.

Good. Serves them right for not coming to help Kuroo out when he needed it. 

Kenma reaches below their seat and tosses a grocery bag onto the table beside Kuroo. When the werewolf noses it to check its contents, he’s glad to see a pair of dark jeans and a red t-shirt inside. He’s itching to shift back into his human skin, but one glance at the door leading out of the office makes him freeze. 

The angel might not be in the room right now, but what happens when he comes back to a room with one less wolf and two more people than he was expecting? 

Kuroo informs Kenma of his fear through a very sophisticated and not ridiculous method of hopping, jerking his head, and waving his legs in sporadic motions. Luckily, Kenma’s dealt with Kuroo in his wolf form often enough that they’re able to make sense of the charade. They shrug and say, “Then he comes back and you’re a human. It doesn’t matter, anyway, he’s not here right now. We can leave before he gets back.”

Kuroo accepts this answer begrudgingly, and begins the shift back to a human. It’s not necessarily a painful process, just made uncomfortable by the shifting bones and stretching skin. To an outsider, the transformation might look a little gruesome, but it’s fast and Kuroo’s lost all of his fur and has opposable thumbs again in less than a minute. If he was in a real hurry, he could probably change forms in just a couple of seconds. 

As he pulls on his pants, he recounts his dramatic tale to his friend. “So I’m dying, on the side of the road - thanks for abandoning me by the way, I could’ve used the help - when this totally attractive guy just pulls over to come and save the day and-”

“Shouyou just happened to be able to get there before I could. And back up, you think Hinata Shouyou’s attractive?” Kenma raises their eyebrow doubtfully and, to be quite honest, the skepticism is probably warranted. Kuroo knows that he has a type and Hinata Shouyou doesn’t exactly fit the billof ‘Tall, Dark and Handsome.’

But Kuroo ignores his friend’s doubt; he’s too busy repeating the angel’s name in his head. 

_Hinata Shouyou_. It’s perfect. 

“You know him?” Kuroo asks excitedly and shoves his face into Kenma’s personal space. In the back of his mind, he’s aware that, if he still had his tail, it would be wagging a mile a minute. 

He hasn’t even formally met the guy and he’s already fallen into what is essentially literal puppy love. 

“Of course I know him,” and the look on Kenma’s face is screaming that really, Kuroo should’ve realized this. They must have mentioned their friendship with the new human in town, and Kuroo was just too busy not listening to have taken note. 

“Well, next time introduce me to your cute human friends, okay?” Kenma stays silent behind Kuroo as he starts patting his pockets frantically. “Shit, Kenma do you have my wallet? This guy saved my life, least I could do is pay him. How much do you pay someone for saving your life?”

“You can’t smell,” Kenma murmurs, as if it’s an answer to the world’s biggest riddle and Kuroo turns to look at his friend curiously. 

“Not since Bokuto ‘jokingly’ punched me in the face a year ago and broke my nose, but you knew that already. Why?”

Kenma’s lips tilt up slightly, but the movement is so imperceptible that Kuroo thinks he might be imagining it. “The smell of antiseptic is making me kind of sick. Can we get out of here? I’ll make sure Shouyou gets paid.”

Kuroo grins and pats Kenma on the back, “You’re a good wingman, bro.” Kenma rolls their eyes at this, but their smile becomes more definite. “Let’s go. I need to make sure I look nice before I introduce myself to my future husband.” 

 

He’s even more pathetic than he thought he was. 

Isn’t there some sort of social stigma about at least waiting a couple of days before you ask out the person who basically saved your life? ‘Cause, really, walking back into Hinata Shouyou’s veterinary practice as a human only a couple of hours after being in here as a wolf might make him look a little desperate. 

Not that Shouyou knows that he’s the wolf, that would just be a ridiculous thought to him, but Kuroo knows, and that’s enough to dent his self-confidence. 

But he is a little desperate for this sunshiney angel, so he struts into the building with a cocky smirk on his face that he hopes is successfully hiding his runaway heart. 

Hinata Shouyou is standing next to the receptionist desk in all of his beautiful glory when Kuroo walks through the doors. He’s handing off a small, mewling kitten to a petite blonde girl that Kuroo recognizes as the pixie who lives next door to Kenma, Yachi Hitoka. Yachi bows her head at Shouyou in thanks before scurrying off, giving Kuroo a small smile as she passes. 

Hinata’s eyes turn to Kuroo, and he really, really hopes that he doesn’t imagine the way his smile seems to grow a little bigger. He also hopes he doesn’t imagine how Hinata’s eyes look Kuroo up and down in a silent appraisal, lingering for a couple seconds on his leg - shit, he didn’t think the limp was that noticeable - before he reestablishes eye contact. “You look good.”

And Kuroo nearly turns around to walk right back out that door, get in his car, and drive as far away from Hinata Shouyou as is humanly possible, because that was so fucking bold, and there’s no way on Earth he’s prepared to ask this perfect man out _now._

But he can’t move. Hinata Shouyou’s smile is so bright that it wraps around him, tethering his feet to the floor below him, holding him in place. So he steels up every last nerve in his body and, ignoring Hinata’s earlier comment because _honestly how does he respond to that,_ goes in for the kill. 

“Uh, hi. My name’s, uh, Kuroo Tetsurou,” he stutters out, sticking out his hand in introduction. He really hopes that Hinata can’t tell that it’s trembling from his nerves. 

Hinata takes Kuroo’s hand in a firm, confident grip of his own. “Hinata Shouyou. Is your leg alright?”

“Huh?” Oh, right the limp. “Yeah, it’s fine, just a little sore today is all.”

“That’s great!” Hinata runs a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in several different directions and sending Kuroo’s already jumbled nerves into a hysteric frenzy. “Is there anything I could do for you?”

Maybe Kuroo’s mind hadn’t have been a chaotic mess, he would’ve said something really smooth like, “You could help me score a date with this really cute angel standing across from me.” 

Unfortunately, any charm that may have existed in his body had evaporated in the light of Hinata’s smile, so all he managed was a high pitched yelp of, “Date!”

How articulate.

Hinata’s eyes furrow in confusion. “I think it’s February twelfth?”

Kuroo shakes his head frantically. “No, no, no!” He takes a moment to get his thoughts together. Then, he releases everything he’d already thought to say in one long breath, “Uh, I know that you just moved into town a few weeks ago, and was wondering if anyone’s shown you around yet. And if not, I could totally show you around. And then we could maybe go out to coffee later? Like a, um, like a date. But only if you want to! It’s just that you’re really cute, and you seem super nice and I’d really, really like to go on a date with you!”

In the moments between Kuroo’s totally suave, not at all pathetic rambling and Hinata’s answer, he tries to calm his racing heart. He really shouldn’t be so riled up about this. He’s asked out people before this, and he’s always been cool as a cucumber. It must be the heat radiating from Hinata’s smile, melting away at his super cool, bad-boy exterior, that has him in such a state. There’s no other plausible explanation. 

This man in front of him just seemed so, so perfect. And Kuroo would do backflips if it meant he could stand in his light for just a little longer.

So, when Hinata answers, he feels like he’s about to pass out on the floor in his anticipation.

“You know,” and the sunshine grin is even bigger now, damn Kuroo’s heart won’t be able to take much more, “a date sounds wonderful.”

 

So changing his outfit nine times might have been a bit excessive, and maybe he did all of that only to end up with a pair of dark jeans and a navy blue shirt. But hey, these pants make his ass look really great, so the many wardrobe changes were definitely worth it. 

On his way to pick up Shouyou from his office, he makes a quick detour to Bokuto and Akaashi’s house. Akaashi, a forest dryad, has a garden filled with every kind of flowers for all intents and purposes. Kuroo really needs some luck for this date, and some of Akaashi’s flowers should do the trick. 

So Kuroo hops the fence into Akaashi’s backyard, shears in hand, and steals some of the lucky sunflowers, keeping an eye on the house’s back door the whole time.

It’d probably be best to ignore the fact that Kuroo technically isn’t allowed to be stealing Akaashi’s flowers. This date is important, after all, and he’s willing to break a few rules if it meant that everything went well with Hinata tonight. He really doesn’t want something like a little bad luck to ruin this for him. 

And besides, sunshine flowers are perfect for a sunshine boy.

Successful in his heist of mission impossible standards - that was a life or death situation, angry Akaashi is a terrifying thing - Kuroo climbs back into his car with a cluster of sunflowers gripped tightly in his hand. He grabs a bright yellow ribbon that he had brought along for this and clumsily ties the flowers together into a bouquet. It’s a little sloppy, with flower stalks of different lengths and an uneven bow, but the awkwardness of it will just add to the charm. 

Hopefully. 

When he pulls up to Hinata’s office - the name of the animal hospital is, ironically, Magic Touch Veterinary - Kuroo’s hands are slick with sweat, and he has to take a couple deep breaths before he can work up the courage to even open the car door. He tells himself to calm down. The hard part’s over; Hinata has already accepted his invitation for a date. All that’s left to do is charm what is possibly the most perfect person on the entire planet. 

Simple enough. 

With the mediocre bouquet shaking nervously in his hand, Kuroo knocks on the door to the building before pushing it open. It’s 8 o’clock, so Hinata’s shift should be over now; they agreed that Kuroo would pick him up from the office once he got off work. Sure enough, Hinata’s coming out of the examination room, dressed in casual clothes. The shirt he’s wearing is short sleeved, and Kuroo’s a little shocked to see that, despite his small stature, the man is definitely muscular. 

At the sight of Kuroo standing in the doorway with his flowers, Hinata grins widely. “Are those for me?” He bounces toward Kuroo excitedly, already reaching for the flowers. 

Kuroo nods quickly, throat clogged from Hinata’s sunny smile, and shoves the bouquet into his date’s hands quickly. 

Hinata’s laugh is magical, ringing throughout the empty room like a chorus of bells. He spins around, flowers clutched tightly against his chest, and ducks behind the service desk. “I love sunflowers!” He exclaims, and Kuroo’s heart is stuttering because all he can see is a head of orange hair bobbing behind the desk and he’s just so damn _cute_. “They’re good luck! I think I have a vase for them somewhere in here…” There’s some rattling, and then Hinata pops back up with a triumphant shout. He fills the vase at the nearby faucet and delicately places the sunflowers into it, careful not to let the bow touch the water. He sets it on the desk and mimics jazz hands. “There we go!”

The whole time, Kuroo stands near the doorway, watching with his mouth agape. 

He’s pretty sure he’s in love. 

Hinata’s smile slips a little and he looks at Kuroo worriedly. “Are you alright?”

For the first time this night, Kuroo’s answering smile isn’t nervous or shaky. Hinata is kind of a dork and, even if it added to his charm, it made him seem a little more like a normal person. Maybe Kuroo actually had a shot at this. 

“Yeah. Everything’s absolutely perfect.”

 

Hinata’s singing voice did not match his angelic appearance. 

This is something Kuroo learns quickly as they drive out of town in his car, radio blaring obnoxious pop songs. 

Hinata has taken it upon himself to sing along to every song that comes up on the radio, even if he doesn’t know the words in the slightest. His voice is high, cracking, and so off-key that Kuroo periodically cringes throughout the car ride. To put it simply, Hinata is an awful singer. 

And it’s perfect. 

Every time the singer on the radio hits a high note, Hinata wails a very off-pitch version of it, and Kuroo breaks out into a fit of laughter. The smaller man even vocalizes the instrumentals, miming air guitars and beating the hell out of an imaginary drum set. During harder songs, Hinata head bangs, his hair poofing out around him with each drastic movement. By the time Kuroo pulls up to their destination, his stomach aches from all of his guffaws, but honestly he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

When Hinata sees that they had pulled into the parking lot leading into hiking trails for the forest surrounding the town, he stops his version of singing and turns to Kuroo with a cocked eyebrow. “This is either going to be a really cheesy date, or you’re planning to murder me out there.”

Kuroo smirks, finally feeling comfortable around this perfect, dorky man. “It depends on how this date goes.”

“Oh, joy,” Hinata opens his car door, and Kuroo’s a little upset because he was planning to be gentlemanly and open the door for his date. “I bet no one would be able to hear me scream.”

Also stepping out of the car, Kuroo walks around the front to stand behind Hinata. Leaning in close to his ear, he whispers, “That could also be a good thing, you know.”

Hinata giggles - _please, can he stop being so cute?_ \- and shoves Kuroo away playfully. “I don’t think you’re gonna be getting any of that tonight.” He straightens his shoulders and stands a little taller, throwing an impish grin over his shoulder to Kuroo. “I’m a classy guy.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Kuroo says, because there really isn’t. Hinata could never want to be physical with him, and he’d still be more than happy to be a part of this man’s life. He reaches his hand forward and, after only a couple moments of hesitation, good for him, he steals Hinata’s fingers to wrap them with his own. “But is hand holding okay? Or do you wait for the second date before things get real.”

Hinata smiles and squeezes Kuroo’s hand. “Hand holding is perfect.”

And Kuroo just has to spend a couple seconds looking at this angel in front of him, because he honestly never thought he’d ever be so lucky to have a date with someone as wonderful as him. 

When Kuroo’s staring goes on for long enough to probably be considered really, really creepy, Hinata tugs gently on his hand. “So is our date in the parking lot?” He teases, “Because I might have to rethink this whole hand holding thing if you’re not as romantic as I thought you were.”

“Oh ho ho, I happen to be very romantic.” Kuroo places a hand over his heart dramatically. Then, with his hand still firmly grasping Hinata’s - he really doesn’t think he’ll ever want to let go - he opens the back door of his car and pulls out a blanket. He hands it to Hinata and grabs the basket from the seat, too, before pushing the door closed again. 

Hinata is looking excitedly at the picnic basket in Kuroo’s hand. “A picnic?!” 

“That’s okay?” Kuroo asks, because he spent a long, long time trying to come up with something that would make for a good date. And, after several probably annoying calls to Kenma, a picnic under the stars was what he thought would be best. 

He’s relieved when Hinata nods eagerly and starts tugging him towards the forest. The blanket is thrown haphazardly over his shoulder and the edges of it were trailing on the ground by Hinata’s feet, causing him to stumble over it a couple of times in his enthusiasm. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Kuroo laughs and directs Hinata to the right path. Together, they walk into the forest, hands clasped tightly between them. 

 

The stars were beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as Hinata Shouyou. 

And, God, that’s probably the cheesiest thing Kuroo has ever thought, but it’s the honest to God truth, and he’s just so happy to be on a date with this gorgeous man that he would howl it to the moon like the wolf he was if he needed to. 

Kuroo had led them to a clearing he came across a couple years ago when he was running with Bokuto. It was small, but covered with wild flowers, and there was no better place to look up at the stars. 

They spread out their blanket in the middle clearing and set the basket in the middle. Hinata plops down onto the blanket, sprawling out so that his hands and legs took up the entire space. Kuroo looks down at him and, when there’s no sign that he would make room, he gently pushes on Hinata’s side with his foot. Hinata squawks, then grins up at Kuroo innocently, sitting up so there was space on the blanket for Kuroo, too. 

Kuroo takes the spot next to Hinata, trying to ignore the racing in his heart every time their shoulders brush together. In order to distract himself, he reaches for the basket and flips it open, pulling out several little sandwiches. “I’m not that great of a cook, so this is really all I could do,” he says, a little embarrassed that he couldn’t contribute with anything other than dorky, immature peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Hinata munches on his sandwich happily and, with his face still stuffed with food, mumbles, “No, these are great!”

Kuroo tries to hide his smile, not wanting to explain that Hinata totally looks like chipmunk right now and, for some reason, it’s really endearing. He picks up his own sandwich and takes a small bite. Even after all these years of his lack of smell ruining his sense of taste, he’s still mildly disappointed that it’s so bland. “Kenma was telling me that they’re not very romantic, but as long as you don’t seem to mind.”

Hinata gulps down the food in his mouth. “I’ll have to give Kenma some lessons on what’s romantic. I’d take sandwiches and a picnic over a fancy, candle-lit dinner any day.”

“You and Kenma know each other well?” Kuroo asks, because even though they really don’t talk much, he thinks that they would’ve mentioned at least something about Hinata if they were really good friends. 

“Not until recently.” Hinata reaches for a can of soda tucked away in the picnic basket. “We’ve met up when they were visiting Tokyo for something, and we just kind of kept in touch. We didn’t really catch up until I got sick of the big city, and they told me about Forest Ridge. Next thing I knew, I was packing my bags and moving all the way down here. Kenma showed me around a little bit, but I’ve been so busy trying to get everything together that we haven’t really had a chance to hang out.”

Kuroo lets a small smile tilt up his lips. “Good. It’s nice to see that they’ve made some more friends that they can turn to when they get sick of me.”

“Kenma talks a lot about you,” Hinata finishes his can of soda and playfully tosses the can at Kuroo’s shoulder. Kuroo rushes to catch it before it hits the ground -thank god for werewolf reflexes - and nearly drops his sandwich in the process. 

He scowls at Hinata and throws the can right back at him, snickering when Hinata’s doesn’t react fast enough and the can hits him in the eye. “We grew up together. Thankfully for me, and probably unfortunately for them, being some of the only kids ina small town really makes bonds grow between people.” He thinks about being young and befriending the quiet witch that lived next door. They’ve been best friends for so long. They stuck together through Kenma’s realization that they were non-binary, when Kuroo first shifted and was moody from the hormone changes for months after, and through any other hardship that ever hit them. Kuroo’s never had anyone he’s trusted so much in his life; he was even more than a best friend to him. “We’ve been through a lot together,” he murmurs quietly.

“Sounds like you guys really love each other.”

Before he even realizes it, Kuroo’s nodding in agreement. “Yeah.” Then, he’s furiously backtracking because even though he’s not the smoothest guy, he knows that you’re probably not supposed to say you love another person when you’re on a date with someone you’re romantically interested in. “I mean, not romantically or anything! I wouldn’t be here with you if I loved Kenma like that. I do love them, though, just like as a friend? No, that’s not really it, they're more than a friend but-” He drops his head into his hands. “Shit.” 

The status of his relationship with Kenma isn’t something he normally brings up on a first date. But some of his past date friends have had problems with how close he was to his childhood friend. Kuroo really wants the thing between him and Hinata, whatever it may be, to go well, but Kenma is an absolute in his life. And if Hinata has a problem with that then this isn’t going to work out between them.

Bros before hoes. 

So he calms his nerves and raises his head to look his date in the eye. “Kenma’s more than just a best friend, and I love them.Not romantically, but they know me better than anyone else does, and we spend a lot of time together. I know that a lot of people don’t want to be in a romantic relationship with someone who loves someone else as much as I love Kenma. And if you’re one of those people, I’d completely understand that, but Kenma’s not someone I’m willing to give up.” Hinata doesn’t respond, and the nerves are building up in Kuroo’s chest again, so he scrambles to add, “But I’m definitely interested in you romantically! I wouldn’t ignore you if we had a relationship, and I could love you, too! It’d just be different than what I-”

And then Hinata laughs. 

At first, Kuroo’s a little insulted. There was nothing wrong with loving someone platonically and even if Hinata wasn’t into that, he didn’t have to laugh at him as if it was the most absurd thing on the planet. 

But then Kuroo sees the small smile on his lips, much gentler than his usual overwhelming one, and he realizes that Hinata’s not laughing at him. 

Just at his awkward rambling. 

“There’s nothing wrong with your relationship with Kenma,” Hinata assures him, and all the air is released from Kuroo’s lungs in one relieved whoosh. “It’d be kind of hypocritical to have a problem with it considering I have a queerplatonic, too. But Tobio lives in Tokyo, so he shouldn’t be around to bother me anytime soon.” He smiles fondly.

Kuroo, glad to have that conversation off his chest, smirks and slings an arm loosely around Hinata’s shoulders. “Good. Because, and it might just be me, but I’m sensing a real vibe between us, and it’d be a shame for something to get in the way of true love,” he teases. Feelinga little more confident, he leaves a sloppy kiss on Hinata’s cheek. 

“You’re one hundred percent right. How would I live if I couldn’t date the sexy Kuroo Tetsurou just because he has someone really important to him.” Then, his voice drops an octave, mimicking Kuroo’s. “And don’t worry, I could definitely love you just as much as I love Tobio,” he mocks. He flutters his eyelashes and swoons exaggeratedly, “What I feel between us is totally different than how I feel about him.”

Kuroo gasps in mock offense, and shakes Hinata with the arm wrapped around his shoulders. “How dare you make fun of me. I poured my heart and soul into that speech and you tease me for it? How could I have been so misled as to place my affections in someone with a soul as cruel as yours?”

“Cruel?” Hinata turns his head, the close proximity causing his nose to tickle Kuroo’s cheek. “I’m the kindest person on the planet! It’s no wonder you’re so smitten with me.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know.”

Hinata shoves at his date, but his laughter booms across the silent night, so Kuroo’s pretty sure he’s not really that angry. Slipping out from underneath Kuroo’s arm, he flops backwards to lay across the blanket. 

Kuroo falls down beside him, and they spend a few comfortable moments staring up at the sky silently. “When we were kids, Kenma taught me all of the constellations. I bet I could still point them out if I really tried.”

Hinata shifts his eyes to glance at Kuroo. “Oh, yeah? Show me what you got, big guy.”

So Kuroo sticks his arm into the air, pointing out the many shapes formed by thousands of bright lights millions of miles away. He’s feeling pretty good about himself, impressing his date with his excellent stargazing knowledge, when Hinata snickers beside him. 

“What?”

“That’s not taurus,” Hinata says. He takes Kuroo’s hand in his own and moves a little to the left. “Taurus is over there. See the prongs? Those are his horns.”

Kuroo lets his arm drop between them, Hinata’s hand still clasped around his. “You already know all the constellations.” At Hinata’s nod, Kuroo groans. “I thought I was impressing you!”

“You were!” Hinata pats Kuroo’s cheek with his free hand. “Well, at least until you totally screwed up with Taurus, but other than that you were doing really well!” The fact that he sounds like he’s assuring a petulant child doesn’t do anything to build Kuroo’s self confidence, though.

Hinata just giggles at Kuroo’s misery, the cute little bastard. “Stop being cute,” he laughs. 

Kuroo rolls onto his side to face Hinata, head propped up on his hands. “What’s this? You think I’m cute.”

The smaller man smiles innocently. “Oh, did I say that? I don’t remember.”

“Nope, no take backs. You totally said I was cute.” Hinata laughs and the sound is so warm that Kuroo feels the heat from it traveling up his spine. “The question is if you think I’m cute enough to have another date with me.”

“Hmmm,” Hinata taps a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, come one.” Kuroo lets his head fall to the blanket below him and reaches for Hinata’s hand, entwining their fingers and tugging on him pleadingly. “I thought you had a good time tonight.”

“Is that what you think?” But the smirk on his face is teasing, so Kuroo continues with his pulling. 

“Please,” he drags out the word childishly and is rewarded with another giggle from Hinata. 

The grip on Kuroo’s hand tightens. “I think I’d be up for just one more date.”

 

They go on more than just one more date. 

A lot more. 

The times that they go out after their first date are a little more casual. Diners, bars, hikes. They enjoy spending time together and don’t need fancy restaurants and candle light to prove it. 

Their first kiss is just as lacking in the romance department. 

Kuroo pulls up to Magic Touch Veterinary with a skip in his step and a grin planted firmly across his face. Today has already been a good day. He went on a run as a wolf earlier with Bokuto, Kenma let him try out some of the new potions they’d been brewing, and he found a twenty dollar bill laying on the street. And now he’s taking Hinata out for dinner, so things can only get better. 

Except when he enters the clinic, he’s not greeted by the chipper ball of sunshine that is Hinata Shouyou. The waiting room is actually very much empty. 

“Hinata?” 

There’s no answer. 

At least not until a loud snore erupts from the open door of the examination room. 

Kuroo enters the room to find Hinata asleep on the observation table, which is probably really unsanitary, who knows what animals have been on that table, but it’s still kind of really cute. He’s still dressed in his scrubs, and they’re speckled with blood droplets so he must’ve had to operate on a patient. 

Poor kid looks like he needs to sleep for a million years. 

Unfortunately, the metal examination table is definitely not the best place to hibernate, so Kuroo walks over and prods Hinata in the side. “Oi, babe, you need to wake up.”

Hinata groans and swats at Kuroo’s hand halfheartedly. Kuroo just continues with his jabbing until his eyes flutter open. 

When he sees Kuroo’s face hovering over him, Hinata startles so badly that he flips off the table, face-planting onto the tile below him. Kuroo, the courteous boyfriend that he is,immediately rounds the table to help him back up. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m-” he’s interrupted by a yawn. “I’m alright. Just let me get changed, and we can go on our date, okay?”

He’s already walking out of the room when Kuroo drags him back. “We’re not going out tonight.”

“What? I’m fine, I promise! Just a little tired.”

“Hinata, you look dead on your feet.” And it’s true. He’s swaying as he stands and his eyes keep drifting shut despite his best efforts. “You’re going to bed.”

“Kuroo,” Hinata whines, but Kuroo is already dragging him towards the stairs leading to Hinata’s apartment above the clinic. He manages to pull him all the way to the living room when Hinata gives up, stumbling to sit on the couch with a sigh. His head falls back against the cushions and he sleepily pats the space next to him. Kuroo sits down and Hinata’s head rolls so it’s resting on his shoulder. 

“Oikawa’s dog had to go into surgery today,” he murmurs against Kuroo’s neck as Kuroo pets his boyfriend’s hair absentmindedly. Hinata’s hair is really, really fluffy and Kuroo never thought that something would be softer than his own fur coat, but Hinata’s unruly mane knocked softness right out of the ballpark. 

“How did it go?” 

“It was touch and go for a while,” Hinata says around a yawn. “But she got through it. She’ll probably be just fine in a few days.”

Kuroo tugs gently on the ends of Hinata’s hair. “You’re like a superhero, babe.” Hinata just giggles drowsily in response, nuzzling his nose deeper against Kuroo’s neck. “No, I’m serious. You saved that dog’s life. You’re her hero.” _And mine,_ he adds in his head. And honestly, even if Hinata hadn’t pulled him from the side of the road, he’s sure that wouldn’t change. Because Hinata Shouyou is one of the kindest, most optimistic and sunshiniest people Kuroo’s ever met. 

And he’s dating this amazing person. 

It must be this realization that makes him lean forward and gently press his lips against Hinata’s. 

Immediately, he pulls away, apologies already spilling out of his mouth. Kuroo knows that Hinata isn’t really interested in the physical aspects of relationships and even if he’s not necessarily opposed to some of it either, Kuroo definitely should’ve asked for permission before he did this. And Hinata’s just staring at him with wide, stunned eyes, and shit, Kuroo really fucked this up. How could he ever dare to make this precious man uncomfortable? He prayed that his endless stream of ‘ _sorry_ ’s might be enough to alleviate the situation, but he would never forgive himself if he did something Hinata didn’t like. 

Suddenly, two hands are squishing his cheeks together, interrupting his repeated apologies. “Kuroo, it’s okay.” And Kuroo breathes a sigh of relief because he never, ever wants this relationship to go to shit. “Kisses are fine. This is fine. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re thinking too hard, Kuroo. Go back to being dumb. This is completely fine.”

Kuroo’s squawk of indignation - _he’s not dumb, just a little slow sometimes_ \- is muted by Hinata’s lips on his. 

 

“Shouyou,” Kenma groans, draping their entire body weight against their friend’s shoulder. “How will I survive while you’re gone? You’re leaving me here to deal with Kuroo _all by myself_. How will I manage?”

Hinata laughs and pats Kenma on the head comfortingly. “You’ve lasted 26 years with him already. I think you’ll be fine for the next week.”

“But he’s so annoying,” Kenma whines. 

“I can’t really argue with that,” Hinata agrees, smoothing his hand over their hair soothingly. 

“Hey!” Kuroo yells from where he’s loading Hinata’s bags into his truck - such a good boyfriend. “You’re my boyfriend! You’re not allowed to be conspiring against me with my best friend!”

“See, Shouyou?” Kenma angles their body so they’re partially hidden from Kuroo’s line of sight. “He’s already yelling at me. How will I manage.”

“Shhhh, you’ll be okay. If he does anything mean you can call me. I’ll chew him out for you.”

Kuroo slams the bed of Hinata’s truck closed and huffs. “I hate you both.” 

“You love us,” Hinata sings, sticking his tongue out at Kuroo teasingly. 

“It should be me you’re worried about,” Kuroo says and pushes Kenma off of his boyfriend. They glare at him bitterly, but don’t retaliate. “I’m the one who’s going to have to manage without my cute, little boyfriend to get me through the day.” He wraps Hinata in his arms and swings them around in a sweeping circle, burying soft kisses into his messy hair. 

Kisses are okay. On the cheek, forehead, nose, mouth, it doesn’t matter. In fact, Kuroo’s come to learn that Hinata loves kisses. Even though he doesn’t feel the need to be physical with his partner, he likes kisses because of the emotion they held, instead focusing on the devotion in each one. 

So Kuroo made sure that every one of his kisses were filled to the fucking brim with his affection. 

Hinata laughs in his arms, and combats Kuroo’s attack with a small peck of his own before dancing away. “I think you’ll be fine.” Then, he gently pushes Kuroo towards Kenma who’s watching them with a small smile. “Go spend time with your platonic, and I’ll go spend time with mine. Platonics need attention, too.”

“You’re actually doing me a favor by taking his time away from me,” Kenma says, but he glances at Kuroo fondly, so it must translate to _thanks, Shouyou, I missed my friend._ And, even though Kuroo knows that he and Hinata’s relationship isn’t straining anything between him and Kenma, he also knows that Kenma gets lonely sometimes and needs time with his best friend. So he grins and throws an arm around his platonic, squeezing him against his side affectionately. 

He doesn’t miss the fact that Kenma leans into him even more.

Hinata grins at both of them. Then, he hops towards Kuroo and brushes his lips against his. “I’ve got to get going.”

Kuroo nods, rubbing their noses together tenderly. “Drive safe. Call me when you get to Tobio’s.”

“If you insist.” And, with one last kiss from Kuroo and a quick hug from Kenma, he steps into his car and drives off. 

“You guys are cute together,” Kenma says softly, and Kuroo can’t help the grin from overtaking his face. 

“Don’t worry!” He pushes his face close to Kenma’s. “I still love you, even if my heart now belongs to Hinata Shouyou. Now,” he claps his hands together and Kenma startles a little bit, “do you have any new voodoo to show me? It’s been so long since I’ve done magic; dating a human is a real hassle, sometimes.”

Kenma laughs quietly and turns to walk to their car. “It must be a real pain. But I do have some new potions I want to try out. I think one of them might even be able to make you more attractive; poor Shouyou wouldn’t have to deal with an ugly boyfriend anymore.”

“Why is everyone I love so mean to me?”

 

It feels good to be a wolf again. 

In the months he’s been dating Shouyou, he’s only shifted a couple of times. It’s been so hard to keep it a secret from his boyfriend, especially when he just wants to tell him everything, but he refuses to let this slip. Hinata would probably freak out, and what kind of person would want to date a monster?

And, yeah, he knows he won’t be able to hide this forever. Particularly because this is starting to look like a serious relationship, and Kuroo really, really hopes it’ll turn out that way. But every time he thinks about telling Hinata, his stomach starts feeling queasy and he gets a little light-headed. The look on Shouyou’s face would ruin him if he found out. 

So he keeps his runs as a wolf to a minimum, doing it only when the itch to change becomes unbearable. He’s going to guard this secret with every last bone in his body.

But Hinata’s out of town now, so he could transform to his werewolf heart’s content. 

He races through the forest, jumping over tree roots and weaving between the foliage. Bokuto flies above him, swooping down every now and then to snap at Kuroo’s ears with his talons. Akaashi is teaching Kenma about the different plants in the forest; which flowers make the best love potions, which berries can cure illnesses if enchanted right, which wood is best for cauldron fires. 

He forgot how good it felt to be a wolf. 

Wind rushing through his fur. Sounds amplified around him. Paws pounding furiously against the ground. It’s intoxicating, a natural high that can’t even be topped by the best of drugs (except whatever drug Hinata had given him when he was in the clinic, because shit he felt good after that). 

It’s during this exhilaration that he realizes something. 

Being a werewolf is a part of him. 

The fact that he turns into what is essentially a giant dog every night is just who he is. He’s a monster, and he could pretend to be a human around Hinata all he wants, but this will always be a part of him. He can’t get rid of it and, honestly, why would he ever want to give up this euphoria?

But one stray thought back to Hinata makes him think of one reason to give it up. 

A life of the supernatural isn’t one for a human to be a part of. Not only would it be hard for them to comprehend, it can be dangerous; werewolves and vampires hate each other so much they could attack just at the mere sight of the other species, witches sometimes misfired runaway spells, and werewolves tended to become a little grumpy and snappy during the full moon (it was like werewolf PMS, and was frankly really obnoxious to deal with).

It’s not a life Hinata belongs in. 

But Kuroo’s life _is_ one he belongs in.

He’s still thinking about it when they’re all resting in the clearing, the same one that he took Hinata to for their first date. He sprawls across the grass, staring up at the stars and trying to get his thoughts together. 

There’s a push against his foot, and he turns his head to find Kenma retracting their toe from where they just prodded him. They drop down beside him and lay their head against Kuroo’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

“Can I really drag Shouyou into a life like this?” Kenma hums beside him, and he takes it as a cue to elaborate. “I mean, things are peaceful now, but that changes really fast for the supernatural. What happens if some asshole vampire, or witch, or werewolf walks into town one day and decides to fuck shit up? How can I protect him when he won’t know hardly anything about this world? Even if I spent the rest of my life explaining this all to him, he probably wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. He’d probably just leave me once he found out what I am, anyway.” Kuroo groans and rubs his palm against his hand. “I just don’t know what to do.”

Kenma’s silent for a moment, hand reaching for Kuroo’s and giving a gentle squeeze before releasing. “I think,” they start, “that you’re underestimating Shouyou. You’re underestimating his intelligence, and his ability to take care of himself, and his feelings for you. Do you honestly think Shouyou’s going to break up with you, just because of who you are? He’s never judged me for being non-binary, and that’s basically the same thing.”

Kuroo casts Kenma a side-long glance. “It’s really not. Being non-binary doesn’t mean you’re going to sprout fur and want to eat raw meat.”

Kenma just waves him off. “You like Shouyou a lot don’t you.”

“I think I might love him.” He doesn’t even hesitate with his answer. He’s always been someone to rush into emotions, and apparently love wasn’t an exception to that. Hinata just feels so right.

Kenma’s eyes widen briefly in surprise, but the fond happiness in their smile overpowers their shock. “Then I think he’s going to be just fine in this world.”

 

Kuroo skypes Hinata later that night, desperately wanting to see his sunshine boyfriend’s face. He spends the time the call takes to connect to try to straighten his unruly bedhead, but that proves to be a futile effort when it wouldn’t just fucking lie flat against his head. 

When Hinata’s face brightens his laptop screen he hurriedly drops his hands from his head to give him his full attention. “Hey!” Even through a computer screen Hinata’s grin is staggering.

Kuroo grins, happy to see his boyfriend so happy. “I’m guessing Tokyo’s nice?”

Hinata nods and props his head up on his hands. “Yeah! A little crowded, but it’s been nice to come visit. I missed Tobio a lot.”

Kuroo could understand that. He can’t imagine being miles and miles away from Kenma all the time. He doesn’t know how Hinata does it. 

“He’s thinking about moving to Forest Ridge.”

“Really?” Kuroo asks, but the excited grin on Hinata’s face is more than enough confirmation, causing his heart to pound against his chest at the pure glory of it. 

Hinata bounces in his seat eagerly. “Yeah! It’s gonna be great. He’s-” The sharp sound of the doorbell interrupts him and he holds up a finger. “Hold on a second, Tetsurou.” Then, he swivels his head to call out behind him, “Tobio! The pizza’s here!”

“You’re closer to the door!” Another voice shouts back, and Hinata sighs. 

“Asshole. I’ll be right back.” Then, he vanishes off screen. 

Kuroo waits patiently for his return, swiveling back and forth in his office chair slowly. It doesn’t take long for a body to take up the screen again, and Kuroo looks up enthusiastically. 

Except it’s not Hinata sitting in front of him. A significantly taller man (not like it’s that hard to be taller than Hinata though), has taken over Hinata’s chair and glares at Kuroo with icy blue eyes. “So you’re the boyfriend, huh?”

For one of the few times in his life, Kuroo can’t come up with a retort. The man in front of him is fucking intimidating, and he’s actually left speechless. All he manages is an awkward nod and, judging by the sneer on the other man’s face, it looked just as pathetic as Kuroo thought it did.

“Listen here, buddy,” the man growls. “If you do anything to make me think that you’re even thinking about not treating Shouyou right, I will personally drive all the way to your tiny town and rip your throat out with my fucking teeth. Do you understand?”

Once again, Kuroo can’t accomplish anything except for a terrified silence. The man, Tobio probably, stares him down, unperturbed by Kuroo’s lack of a response. 

Luckily, he’s saved from his torture when there’s an angry squawk of “Tobio!” from off camera. A pillow comes flying across the room and smacks Tobio across his face. “Get out, get out, get out!”

“I’m just making sure he’s gonna treat you right!” Tobio defends himself, raising his arms just in time to protect himself from another pillow. Hinata appears on the screen and shoves Tobio roughly, causing him to fall out of the chair with a loud thud. For a moment, Hinata stands above him, triumphant, but it all comes literally crashing down when Tobio reaches up to grab his platonic’s arm and pulls him down hard. There’s the sound of rough housing for a couple of minutes, then there’s the slamming of a door as Hinata yells, “You’re not allowed back in here, Tobio! I’m not even going to give you any pizza.”

Ignoring the banging on the door behind him, Hinata plops down in his chair and smiles at Kuroo sheepishly. “I’m really sorry about that. He can get a little,” he pauses as he tries to think of the right word, “intense.”

“I know I should be glad he’s looking out for you,” Kuroo chokes out, still recovering from the fear that was strangling him only moments before, “but I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my entire life.”

“I’m so, so sorr- hey, what’s that?”

Kuroo furrows his eyebrows in confusion and Hinata waves a hand towards his own neck. “You’ve got something on your neck.”

He looks down at the small square displaying his image on the computer screen, and realizes that what Hinata’s indicating to is a bruise. Well, a bite mark to be more exact, because Bokuto liked to dive-bomb him as an owl out of nowhere, and he must’ve managed to clamp his beak around Kuroo’s neck pretty hard. 

Of course, that wouldn’t really be a plausible explanation to Shouyou. 

“It’s nothing,” he blurts out, because he honestly can’t think of another explanation. 

Shouyou looks at him doubtfully. “Are you sure? It looks kind of like a bite ma-”

“Nope, it’s nothing!” Kuroo knows this isn’t working, of course he knows that, but he can’t come up with any reasonable answer as to why there’s a bite on his neck, and shit this probably looks really bad, what if Shouyou thinks he’s cheating on him, he would never-

Shouyou opens his mouth to say something else, but the Tobio’s pounding increases in volume, so he turns to look over his shoulder reluctantly. “He’s probably going to break the door down if I don’t give him his pizza.”

“Go. Hang out with your platonic.” Kuroo tries to inject as much enthusiasm into his smile as he can, but he’s still stressing about what Shouyou thinks about the bite mark, and he just really wants this call to end and take the tension with it. 

“Yeah, okay,” Shouyou says, but he’s still eyeing the wound on Kuroo’s neck doubtfully. He drags his eyes away after a second to smile at Kuroo, but it looks a little forced. 

Shit, this is a mess. 

He blows a kiss to Shouyou dramatically, hoping it would ease any of his doubts. It seems to work, because Shouyou giggles and mimes catching the kiss and holding it close to his heart. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promises and with one last smile, he logs off. 

 

It’s been a week since Shouyou’s returned from his trip to Tokyo and yeah, Kuroo promised himself that he would tell Shouyou about the whole werewolf thing as soon as he got back, but he’s a big fucking chicken so it hasn’t happened yet. 

But he knows that he needs to do it soon. Shouyou doesn’t deserve to be left in the dark about something like this and, if he does decide to leave him, heaven forbid, he should have that option. So Kuroo just needed to suck it up and get this over with.

So he walks up to Shouyou’s clinic with shaking palms, clasping a bouquet of sunflowers once again stolen from Akaashi’s garden and tied with a messy yellow bow. Hopefully, they’ll bring the luck he needs for this to go smoothly. 

His plans are halted when he reaches the door to the veterinary hospital only to find it locked. Confused, Kuroo pulls out his cell phone and dials Hinata’s number, checking the time as he does so to make sure he’s here at the planned time. 

8 o’clock. Hinata should be here. 

The phone only rings a couple of times before his boyfriend picks up. “Shit, shit, I know I’m late, I’ll be there in a couple minutes, I promise.” He sounds a little breathless and Kuroo laughs at the image of him jogging to get back to the clinic quickly. 

“Where are you?”

“Remember that bunny I found injured a couple weeks ago?” Hinata asks around his huffing. He continues after Kuroo’s hum of acknowledgment, “Well it’s finally all healed up, so I took it into the woods, just off of the blue hiking trail to release it. And then I got distracted because the forest is really pretty at-”

There’s a yelp and what sounds like the noise of a phone dropping. Then there’s nothing but silence.

“Shouyou?” Kuroo asks. There’s no response and worry starts to crawl up his veins. “Babe? What happened?”

There’s still no answer. 

Kuroo quickly checks his phone, troubled to see that the connection had been cut out. Without a second thought, he drops the flowers in his hand and shifts into a wolf, running to the forest at full speed. 

And, yeah, the car probably would’ve been a little faster, but he was frantic and he doesn’t even think straight when he’s calm, alright?

When he reaches the forest, he’s never been so mad to not have his sense of smell. He knows Hinata was near the blue hiking trail, but that was one of the longest trails in the entire forest, and who knows how far off of the trail he had strayed. 

Luckily, Hinata hadn’t delved too deeply into the forest, and Kuroo caught sight of bright orange hair within a couple of minutes. Desperate to make sure he was okay, he darts over to him. 

And shifts right in front of him. 

The sight of a wolf suddenly transforming into his naked boyfriend causes Hinata to stumble backwards, hand clasped tightly over his chest and eyes wide in horror.

Fuck, this isn’t how it was supposed to go down. 

Kuroo’s already kneeling in front of Shouyou, too busy checking for injuries to immediately stress about how he just revealed himself to his boyfriend. It’s only when he doesn’t see any noticeable injuries that the shock on Hinata’s face registers in his mind. 

“Shit, Hinata, I can-” He cuts himself because how is he supposed to explain this? He had planned out an entire speech to warm Hinata up to the idea before anything was confessed, but that had kind of derailed when he had the bright idea to transform right in front of his poor, little boyfriend. 

“Holy shit, Kuroo,” Hinata says, and Kuroo’s scrambling to think of something, _anything_ to say.

“You almost gave me a heart attack. Could you not shift so suddenly next time? Jesus.”

“Wait, what?” Where was the shock? The fear? The horror that the man he’s been dating for over half a year now is a fucking monster. 

Hinata stands, brushing the dirt from his pants. “I mean, holy hell, that was really sudden. You nearly scared the shit out of me.” He looks down at Kuroo, still kneeling down on the ground below him, and blushes. “And you’re naked.”

“You’re not upset that I’m a werewolf.” Kuroo’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Hinata was accepting this with such blatant ease. 

“What? No, of course not. I mean sure Tobio’s a vampire, but I’m not going to let that stupid feud affect my opinion of you. Tobio can go suck a dick.”

“Tobio’s a vampire.”

Now Hinata just looks exasperated. “Yes? And Akaashi’s a dryad, Bokuto’s an owl-thingy, you’re a werewolf, and Kenma’s a witch. Are they any other things you need to go over?”

Kuroo finally gathers the strength to stand and grabs Hinata by his shoulders. “You knew we were monsters this whole time?”

“Of course. What kind of witch would I be if I didn’t know what you guys were?”

Kuroo’s just been punched in the gut, he’s sure of it. “You’re a witch.”

“Are you okay, Tetsurou?” Hinata presses his hand against Kuroo’s forehead, as if he’s checking for a temperature. “Did you hit your head on the way here?”

“I didn’t know you’re a witch.”

Hinata releases a shocked laugh. “What?”

“This whole time,” he drops his head against Hinata’s shoulder, not even caring that he was pressing his very naked body against his boyfriends, “I thought you were a human this whole time.”

“Are you serious?” Hinata shoves Kuroo away from him. He must see the pitiful look on his face because he murmurs a quiet, “Holy shit, you are serious.”

Kuroo just nods pathetically.

“Tetsurou, I’m sorry, but you must be a fucking idiot. I literally used magic on you the first time we met.” At Kuroo’s confused expression, he exclaims, “How else would you heal from a broken leg so easily?!”

“I thought you gave me some really good drugs!”

“The name of my office is Magic Touch Veterinary, Tetsurou! I smell like a witch! I met Kenma at a witch’s convention in Tokyo!”

Kuroo is about to respond with the fact that he can’t fucking smell, how was he supposed to realize Hinata was a witch based off of that, but the last sentence catches him off guard. “Kenma knew.” He grabs Hinata by the shoulders and shakes him desperately. “Kenma fucking knew and never even bothered to tell me! That fucking-” He lets go of Hinata and spins around, kicking at the ground in frustration. “This whole time.”

“Oh my god, you’re a fucking idiot.” And Hinata’s laughing behind him, clutching his stomach in an attempt to control his loud hiccups. 

“I was so worried this whole fucking time,” Then, because he can’t handle this anymore, he lunges at Hinata and slams his lips against his. “Jesus Christ, I love you so much.”

And that wasn’t something he was planning to reveal tonight.

But everything else has been a fucking train wreck so honestly, he’s not even surprised at his own stupidity. 

Hinata’s still laughing, but they’ve tapered down to sporadic giggles as he clumsily kisses Kuroo back. “You fucking idiot, I love you, too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I love werewolves, sue me
> 
> Also, Kuroo's an idiot
> 
> That's all from me. I'm just gonna pretend this piece of trash doesn't exist. Maybe one day I'll come back and rewrite this so it's actually good lmao

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [daemonis umbraculum](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6724483) by [YouarethereasonIwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouarethereasonIwrite/pseuds/YouarethereasonIwrite)




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